Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

God’s blessings to you! I pray you are blessed in your walk with God, your family, and your service unto God, His people, and a needy world.

Here’s a quick thought from Acts 28:

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. (Acts 28:3-6)

I love this account of what happened to Paul after this ship carrying him (and many others) wrecked on the island of Malta. I think there is a lot for us to learn as pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers here.

Paul was a servant. There he was, cold and wet – yet the great apostle gathered wood for the fire, even though there were probably scores of people among the 276 passengers and crew far more suited for the job. Paul’s servant heart was always evident.

Being a godly servant did not prevent all trouble for Paul. A snake came out of the wood and bit Paul, even sticking to his hand.

The adversity didn’t seem to trouble Paul. He didn’t scream, “Why God? I can’t take any more of this!” or “Can’t You see I’m serving You?” Paul didn’t look at those sitting by the fire and say, “You lazy people! If you gathered wood instead of me, this wouldn’t have happened to me!”

God protected Paul: After the shipwreck, Paul knew beyond any doubt that he would make it to Rome as God promised. If a storm or a shipwreck couldn’t stop God’s promise, then a snake wouldn’t either. Paul suffered no harm.

Paul didn’t rise or fall on the opinions of others. Others wanted either to condemn or glorify Paul. The people of Malta first thought Paul was the target of the anger of the gods; then they decided he was a god! Paul couldn’t take their condemnation or their glorification seriously. He was a servant of the living God.

I don’t anticipate many of us will suffer shipwrecks in the coming weeks. But God helping us, we can:

– Be servants to others, not just preachers and teachers.
– Understand that some trouble will come our way.
– Have God’s peace in whatever trouble comes.
– Trust God’s protection.
– Refuse to rise or fall on the opinions of others.

Then our ministry will be “apostolic” in just the right way!

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Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

Good Monday morning to you! That’s when I’m sending this to you, but I really don’t have any idea when (or if) you’ll read this. Whenever you are reading this, please know that I pray that God continually fills you as you keeping serving Him in whatever opportunities you have.

Here’s a quick thought from Acts 23:12-13:

And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together
and bound themselves under an oath,
saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.

This was obviously a real problem for Paul! There were 40 fanatical men so committed to murdering Paul that they swore and oath to not eat or drink until he was dead.

Here’s the thing: Paul didn’t learn about this until later. For some time (we don’t know how long), this was a problem Paul didn’t know about. Though Paul was clueless, God was in control.

There are a lot of hurts to bear in ministry, and sometimes even betrayals. Sometimes we get a little anxious, worrying about what threats or problems may be out there that we can’t see.

Dear friend and fellow servant, calm your heart before the Lord. God is in control and can work His purpose and His will even through the problems you don’t know about!

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Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

God bless you today! I pray that this email finds you receiving some recovery and renewal after a weekend where you may have been busy serving Jesus, His people, and a needy world.

In my brief word today, I would ask you to consider Acts 19:20:

So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

This description of what God was doing in Ephesus and the whole region around that great city sound amazing – actually, something like a dream! Wouldn’t you love it to be said of the church, Sunday School class, or Bible study where you serve?

 

– That the word of the Lord grew – gained influence and touched many lives.
– That the word of the Lord grew mightily – showing mighty power and authority.
– That the word of the Lord actually prevailed – conquering over sin, guilt, and shame.

So, look back through Acts 19 and see some of the features of the church in Ephesus and what God did there.

– It was a church open to and receiving the work of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7)
– It was a church of bold preaching and evangelism (Acts 19:8)
– It was a church that endured opposition (Acts 19:9, 23-41)
– It was a church serious about studying God’s word (Acts 19:9-10)
– It was a church that saw God do unusual things (Acts 19:11-12)
– It was a church where sin was confessed and holiness was valued (Acts 19:17-2)

It’s a good prayer to pray – “Lord, I want to see Your word grow mightily and prevail.” Just remember God wants to build all those other things so that His word can do that mighty, prevailing work.

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Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

Here’s a brief thought from Acts 15. In verse one, we read

Certain men came down from Judea
and taught the brethren,
“Unless you are circumcised
according to the custom of Moses,
you cannot be saved.”

Some Jewish Christians came to the congregation in Antioch and taught that Gentiles could become Christians, but only after first becoming Jews, and submitting to all Jewish rituals, including circumcision.

Through Acts 15 there is a brilliant defense of the important truth that we are saved by the grace of Jesus and His grace alone – not by a combination of grace and obedience. The troublemakers who started all this trouble in the church at Antioch were corrected, and all came to agreement.

Here’s the thought: Acts 15 never mentions the names of these troublemakers. In verse 1 they are “certain men.” In verse 2 they are “them.” In verse 5 they are “some of the sect of the Pharisees.” In verse 24 they are “some who went out from us.”

The apostles battled for grace, and they were gracious to those in the wrong.

Of course, there is a time and place for calling people out by name; Paul did it on several occasions. But regarding these ones who were wrong and then corrected in Acts 15, God spared their names recorded for all eternity in His everlasting word.

As you battle for grace, never forget the principle of graciousness.

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Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

It’s been a long time since I’ve sent one of these emails to you all – I apologize for the long delay and hope once again to get in the rhythm of sending you a note of encouragement every second week.

I do hope your weekend of serving God, His people, and a needy world went well. Whether it did or not, here’s an encouraging word from Acts 11:

And the hand of the Lord was with them,
and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:21)

In the ancient world, many people considered Syrian Antioch to be the third greatest city in the Roman Empire, behind Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was known for its business and commerce, for its sophistication and culture, but also for its immorality.

In such a challenging place, God was doing something amazing in the church at Antioch. Luke summarized it in Acts 11:21.

Simply said, the hand of the Lord was with them. Because God was with them, their ministry was blessed and multiplied, and the result was that a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

A ministry can’t turn people to the Lord unless the hand of the Lord is with them.

You can turn people to a personality without the hand of the Lord.
You can turn people to a social club without the hand of the Lord.
You can turn people to a church or an institution without the hand of the Lord.
But you can’t turn people to Jesus without the hand of the Lord.

Let’s pray that God’s hand is mightily upon all we do for Him!

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers